


Wild Roses

by HolyCorrupt



Category: Original Work
Genre: (Just weed and booze), Alberta, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mutual Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Two bros awkwardly flirting 1 foot apart because they're SO gay, Urban Exploration, Vaguely made up Ghost Stories, Very Canadian, Will have illustrations eventually, YouTube
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 04:06:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyCorrupt/pseuds/HolyCorrupt
Summary: Jesse has been living the same life every day for the past two years. He goes to work, watches his favourite YouTuber: Cole Explores (who he happens to have a massive boner for), gets drunk and passes out every day. Repeat.Jesse's life is flipped upside down however when he discovers Cole lives in the same city in Alberta, Canada as him.The stars align and they meet, and it escalates from there.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really in love with these characters,,,, as someone who grew up in urban and rural Alberta there is a lot of nostalgia and love put into this.  
> And maybe a liiiittle bitterness because everyone whos from Alberta knows how much if a shithole it is ;p 
> 
> Anyways a big goal is to eventually have 1-3 Illustrations made per chapter and I'll edit those in once they are done.  
> Enjoy!

The worst thing to hear in the morning was a blaring alarm clock screaming at the top of its lungs because it so happened that its owner had a track record of sleeping through it.

Today, however, with a headache already manifesting in Jesse's skull the alarm managed to do its job and the man in bed groaned drowsily slamming his hand on top of the machine, a sigh of relief escaping him when the noise cut and he was draped back into the comforting arms of silence. It didn't take much convincing for Jesse to decide that maybe... just a couple more minutes would help relieve the obvious hangover from last night.

Just as he was starting to drift away, past Jesse had accounted for this and his alarm screamed back to life not even 5 minutes later.

"mn... fuck alright," Jesse grumbled to himself as he reached out again to stop the shrieking beast. He flopped onto his back staring blankly at the ceiling, in the popcorn splatter above him he searched for the vague shape of a dogs maw he had noticed when he first moved here. He always had a hard time seeing it again and every time he could find the imaginary shape in the random patterns on the ceiling he knew it would be a good day. Satisfied it only took him a couple minutes to find the elusive pattern he shifted upwards groaning again and reaching for his aching head.

Knowing he needed to be at work in an hour he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood, lazily scratching at the dusting of a treasure trail leading down from his belly button into his underwear. He padded into his bathroom and stripped what was left on his body from the night before, turning the knobs in his shower to scalding, he made quick work of washing himself and his hair trying to get the thick grime of yesterday off of him.  
Once he was finished washing in the thick heat that did nothing more but makes him feel even more tired he reached forward twisting the knob sharply to cold.

It took a couple moments for the water to catch up with his request easing him slowly into it. However, once the warm water was gone it was replaced with an icy spray. He was used to this treatment now and barely flinched as the chilly water made quick work of making him feel a lot more clear headed and sober.

Back in high school, an old girlfriend suggested that cold water after washing kept your pores clear and skin healthier. He wasn't sure if that was true but he knew it was a damned good way of motivating him to wake up faster.

Once his skin goose bumped and prickled with the coming shivers he turned the water off, shuttering to himself and reaching for a towel left hanging on a hook next to the shower.

Drying off mostly in the shower he stepped out and headed slowly toward the mirror. Wiping away the leftover steam clinging to the surface he gave himself a long blank stare.

His rather solemn face stared back at him. His shoulder-length black hair clung to his neck and hung in thick wet strands. He leaned forward inspecting the patchy look of his attempt of a beard. It would be winter soon enough and he was trying to finally attempt to grow a beard but well.. it looked like absolute trash.

Without remorse, he reached for the razor and shaved off the dreadful neckbeard and unsightly hairs attempting to grow from his jaw and cheeks. He left a little bit of scruff on his chin liking at least the smallest amount of facial hair he could manage.

Smoothing his hands over his now clean-shaven cheeks he inspected his snake bite piercings knowing that one of them got clogged and regrettably infected a couple weeks ago from just how greasy his job was.  
Prodding around the hole he was satisfied that it seemed clean and pus free. Rooting around the cupboards he found the black opal ball and after sterilizing it with rubbing alcohol he put it back in its rightful place. Happy he was finally symmetrical again he worked a brush through his hair knowing it was always a tangled mess even if he tried every trick in the book to help make it healthier...well aside from eating right, exercising and going to bed at a reasonable time.

After dealing with his hair he quickly brushed his teeth and got dressed, his uniform for the Chinese buffet he worked for always lived in his washroom and after smelling the pits he determined it was clean enough for today... he made a mental reminder in the back of his brain to throw it in the wash when he got home though.

Deciding he looked decent enough for the day he grabbed the motorcycle helmet off his kitchen table, perched in the middle like a shiny black egg in a nest of garbage and papers. He tucked the helmet under his arm for now and exited his apartment sulking down the long hall toward the garage.  
Despite dropping out from community college two years ago he still got the discounted rate for his room since his uncle owned the building. The older man said it was only because he was going to school but even now he still lets the young adult live here at half the price. Which suited Jesse just fine in his opinion, all he had to deal with was the old man badgering him about going back to school and he would always reply back with a "maybe next year". Jesse wasn't sure if he ever would go back...

He dreamed of college since he was a middle schooler thinking he would finally find his people and his place in the world... but if anything he found the drama was maybe even worse then high school and middle school combined. Then again it didn't help there is only one college in this whole town so it made it very hard to not come face to face with the exact same people he had to deal with in high school as well.

It honestly wasn't worth it to go back at this point, besides if he ever had the hankering to sell his soul to the whims of 'paid' education he'd rather move out of this shithole of a town and learn film in Hollywood. Rolling his eyes at his own thoughts and long crushed dreams he comes up to his street bike in his parking space.

The helmet slides on easily and after a couple revs, he quickly peels out of the parking garage and onto the early morning September chill. With the sun only just starting to cast its light across the roads Jesse was careful when he took the exit onto the highway even if he knew most of the roads would be dead at this time it didn't stop the loggers or the oil rig semi-trucks from using this valuable time to get further on their long hauls.

His motorcycle was often another gripe he had to deal with whenever he spoke to his family. They always complained it was more dangerous than a car and that he couldn't even drive it in the long winters where the weather dipped below 40° and snow was known to hit anywhere between 3-5 feet. It wasn't like he rode his bike in winter anyway, the buses were reliable enough and if it really came down to it he was used to walking in the snow anyways.

He accelerated his bike and swerved between two cars that decided being slow in the fast lane was a smart idea.

His parents couldn't tear this bike out of his cold dead hands thank you very much. Closed in vehicles made him car sick and claustrophobic. When he was on his bike he felt free and invincible, plus with all the shitty drivers in the world having a smaller speedier bike meant he could outmanoeuvre easier then he could have with some shitty car. He took a turn off and drove for a couple more minutes lazily taking a couple lefts and rights until he was in the upper side of town.  
He pulled up into the parking lot of "General Fang's Chinese Buffet" and yawned his drowsiness catching up to him. Taking his helmet off he checked his phone wondering if he had enough time to pop into a Tim Horton's before his shift started officially. Seeing that he only had 10 minutes and the nearest timmys was often overly busy at this time he sighed heavily. Accepting he would probably have to drink the sludge in the break room they all assumed was 'coffee'. At least that shit got him through the day.

He patted his pants down for the keys to the building and unlocked it. Swiftly tapping in the code to disarm the alarm. He placed his things upstairs in his employee locker before pulling an apron over his slim hips and getting to work prepping the food for the lunch rush.

He had a good gig here too, he liked to believe, constant full-time hours during the weekdays and the owner liked to joke he was his "Canadian goth son" Not that he was goth! But Mr. Fang was somewhat eccentric and loved teasing and picking on his favourite employees. He could live with it, the man treated him well enough and he replayed that trust by making sure everything was up to standards and coming in on his days off if he was needed. It wasn't like he had a life so he was more often than not just at home smoking weed and playing video games in his underwear.

Jesse was by himself for the better part of an hour before he heard another member open the employee entrance. He glanced up from his chopping to see Jacob, Mr. Fang's real son, smirk at him waving a peace sign in greeting before stomping upstairs to grab his own apron. Jesse could call Jacob a good work friend, they didn't hang out too often outside of the restaurant save for when Jesse was low on dope since the 18-year-old somehow had a much better source than him. Speaking of which...

"Hey, Jake, Got any good shit today?" Jesse asked as the shorter man joined him in the kitchen helping pack the veggies he was prepping into containers so everything was ready and proportioned for lunch and dinner buffet. Jacob tilted his head and snorted stealing a slice of carrot and munching on it absently.

"That depends... see I wanted to bring all of my stuff to this party down on 104th street... so it might cost ya" Jacobs brown eyes sparkled in devilish delight at Jesse's exasperated face.

"mm, I heard that was going to be a little girl party man... what're they needing good shit like that for?" Jesse whined forcibly chopping celery a little harder than needed. Jacobs' hand reached out to steal a slice of that as well and Jesse was quicker to slap it out of his hand.

"Beggers can't be choosers Jesse" Jacob laughed heartily before seeming to mull it over.

"Fine you know I always got your back... leave me a 50 in my locker at your break and I'll put it in my usual place" Jacob finally said with a sigh.

The rest of the day went by rather smoothly without so much as a hitch in Jesse's comfortable typical schedule.

As he was leaving for the day he was pleasantly surprised to find a couple grams extra then what he paid for sitting inside his helmet and he pocketed the baggy discreetly already looking forward to being home and taking a test trial of this new stuff.

The ride home was always busier than the ride there. He had to slam his brakes when a man took a last minute turn in front of him not even bothering to use his signal to warn any of the drivers also sharing the road with him. Mood ruined he couldn't wait to get home and took a shortcut through the residential district not wanting to deal with any more shitty drivers on the highway. He couldn't go as fast and he had to be wary of children darting into the middle of the road but it was enough to chill him out. Passing by the grocery store made him pause and he double backed remembering he needed to actually eat something later and his fridge at home was... less than sanitary at this point.  
After picking himself up an assortment of snacks and a frozen dinner he finally made it home. Parking his baby in her spot, Jesse all but ran up down the hallway leading to his apartment. Once he was home he exhaled deeply and tossed his things wherever they would land making a straight beeline for his couch.

Pushing several empty cans of beer out of the way he took out his grinder and the baggy from Jacob. He took a moment to inspect the fine crystalline structures clinging to the purple-tinged bud. This was good shit appearance-wise, but there was only one way to be absolutely sure.  
Daft experienced fingers quickly rolled himself a fat joint and he stuck it between his lips while he dug around his couch for a lighter he _knew_  was there somewhere. Finally finding his prize he hummed triumphantly to himself quickly flicking the roller and the flame lapped at the end of his tightly rolled smoke.

He settled down on the couch with the first couple deep drags letting the semi-sweet and earthy smoke fill his lungs and roll over his tongue. He exhaled a white plume and smacked his lips in interest. Skunky taste but the mellow vibes were already quickly settling along his body and he took another slower inhale enjoying the feel of the sticky smoke.

Definitely feeling pretty good right now Jesse reached for the remote for his tv flicking it on and wondering if his favourite YouTuber uploaded anything new.  
It didn't take long for a brand new thumbnail to enter his sights and he immediately clicked on it a small smile pressing against his lips. As sad as it was to admit, there was only one thing he looked forward to most of all.

The perky blond man immediately filled the screen and Jesse felt his heart soar even further.

Cole Explores was the simple bit effective name of the channel where a 20 something man named Cole would explore old decrepit buildings across North America. The buildings often came with their fair share of ghost stories and even if the young man dabbled into investigating these supposed 'ghost' stories - Which Jesse was a complete skeptic when it came to the paranormal- he couldn't help being drawn to the man's enthusiastic and genuine interest in these old buildings.

Plus the other man may very well be Jesse's ideal type... so having some eye candy to watch was a bonus.

Jesse hadn't realized how gay he actually was until one disastrous relationship with his previous Ex made him rethink it. Everything seemed to fit right into place after he started exploring that side of himself more. He never acted on his desires however content to secretly enjoy Cole's handsome boyish face in the privacy of his own home and pretend he was straight the other 90% of his time.

"Ah I wonder if this is a photo of the family that used to live here" Coles voice drew Jesse out of his lazy daydreaming, and on the video the picture of a young looking couple clutching a newborn baby. The camera juggled a little in Coles' hands and he smiled down at it with that adorably charismatic look on his face.

"Like always I like collecting the photos I find in these places... just in case they belong to someone I can return them to their rightful owners. " Cole explained in episodes before he often found old photos vandalized or torn with age and it made him sad to think someone's precious memories would be forgotten. Even if nobody claimed the photos he would often look through them and that was enough for him to hopefully think the people in the photos and their happy memories were preserved.

It was all very sweet and silly but it just made Jesse's heart clench pleasantly. Cole was wonderfully cute and he could hear him talk and explore abandoned buildings for days.  
The video was ending right as Jesse was taking his final drag from the joint, the last little bits of the roach hard to hold onto. He nearly inhaled the whole fucking thing however when the promo for the next building was shown.

An overly excited looking Cole standing in front of a vastly familiar looking hotel.

"Tune in next week for this very special episode. I've been wanting to do this one for months now and this building holds a dear place in my heart. The Rose Water Inn holds many incredible ghost stories and its located in my very own hometown!" Cole grinned and waved as the video faded to black showing the usual links to his other social media and patron.

Jesses heart, however, was stalling. He reached forward with shaky hands and paused at the spanning view of the hotel. Rose Water... that inn was in this town... It was only three blocks from his job. Cole lived here?? Feeling like he was suddenly very blessed by this life-changing information he looked up the address for the inn confirming it was close to work... He could theoretically pop in after work and spot the man of his dreams and fantasy right... here in the city, he lived his whole life.

But, more rationally as his brain stopped stalling on the shell shock of it all he realized that would be ...incredibly creepy. The internet personality has his own life and even if he has shown in video the couple times fans managed to spot him in their own towns and even if he always seemed happy to talk or whatever Jesse couldn't help thinking it would be different for him.

He could imagine it now.

"Hey I'm your biggest fan I totally jerk it to your image sometimes- we should hang out!"

Yeah no. Jesse grumbled a little to himself as he clicked on the link to Coles Twitter kicking himself as he scrolled through trying to see when he would be at the Rose Water. He often kept his fans updated on twitter for when new videos were released as well as some behind the scenes videos and pictures. It wasn't long until the face of the Hotel was pictured and he gulps.

"Special thanks ahead of time to @Danholster for the interview and letting me come in after-hours this Saturday!"

Jesses throat was dry. This Saturday... today was Wednesday and he was off on the weekends.

Completely bewildered with himself he decided he would maybe... drive by and see if he could get a look at the other... it wasn't like he was going to stalk and harass him he just wanted to see if it was true.

Yeah... That was the only reason he tried to rationalize, already making a memo on his phone about it.


	2. Complicated

Jesse shifted on his bike uncomfortably. The Rose Water inn in sight from his position parked at a McDonalds across from the Inn. It had already been a half hour and he felt like such a scum bag right now clutching his ice-coffee in his hands and keeping his eyes peeled for the man he so desperately wanted to see. Sweating in the unexpected hot day for this time of year he pressed his iced coffee to his brow but almost dropped the whole thing when he spotted the curly blond mop of hair leaving the building.

Heart thudding in his chest he ducked down quickly covering his face with the handles of his bike.

Well, that wasn't suspicious at all! Jesus Fuck!

Heart hammering quicker as he spied on the man feeling very much dirty and gross over the whole thing. He had no desire now to go attempt to meet with Cole like he originally fantasized and striking up a casual conversation.

However, as the blond waved at what Jesse assumed was the Inn owner. He felt even in this heat, goosebumps, chill up his arms and on back of his neck as Cole quickly looked both ways before _darting across the street totally heading his direction_.

Rational brain knew it must be because the man decided to get lunch or whatever, he _was_ after all in the parking lot of a don's.

Irrational brain assumed he spotted him looking at him and was coming over to tell him off.

Twisting quickly Jesse grabbed his helmet with shaking hands. He pressed it over his head knowing it would disguise his face.

Feeling absolutely embarrassed he watched from the corner of his vision as Cole approached closer, Jesse firmly pretended he was looking at his fuel gauge idling with the ignition... anything to look busy.

  
"Hey nice bike"

  
Jesse whips his head upward noticing that Cole was a couple feet away from him, not actually looking at him but at his bright red motorcycle.

"U-Uh" Jesse's brain flatlined in response. From what he could see out if his helmet the other man was still very much his type in the flesh as he was on camera. His cherub curled hair reflecting the late afternoon sunlight in golden whisps. Accenting his beautifully sculpted face, jaw filled enough he looked mature but kept that boyish charm that probably got him very lucky with the girls around here.

And apparently, enough that he got Jesse gawking at him like he didn't know how to form real words. However, as he saw the pleasant friendly smile stiffen to a confused slightly awkward look Jesse knew he had to act quickly or he would blow _what was probably the only time whatever spaghetti monster in the sky would grant him such an easy in for a conversation..._

Coughing away his nerves he rubbed awkwardly at his helmet giving him a smile that he knew Cole could only see in his exposed eyes.

"Oh! Yeah hah- uh thanks dude sorry... I was just thinking I recognized you from somewhere... Do you happen to have a youtube channel?" He hated how awkward his voice sounded, the nervous little warble making him flustered.

The look on Coles' face went from a blank almost startled look like Jesse just guessed his deepest secret. The sun then parted through dreary clouds on the man's face and his smile light up the rest of his face promptly.

"Oh wow! Heh, this is the first time I've been recognized over here." Cole ran a bashful hand through his curly locks making Jesse's heart flutter and skip a beat.

It was true that their city was more industrial and farmland with oil rigs then it was a city, it had a Walmart and other necessities to any 'city' but 80% of the population were either cowboy redneck wannabes or dead in the eyes irritated oil men who just got back home from spending months in the oil sands working extreme overtime and hard hours.

Not exactly the type of people who would watch a ghost and urban exploration show on youtube.

"Oh... yeah I guess so Um... I'm a big fan heh... it's really cool to see you in person haha... small world?" Jesse didn't want to admit he came here in purpose for the sole reason of seeing if Cole existed but he was already getting dizzy with the idea he was right in front of him. He was thankful for the helmet to hide his true face right now. He was sure Cole would be creeped out by how _nervous and freaked out he looked._

Cole tilted his head to the side clearly feeling a little modest about being laid so much praise on and he laughed nervously his thumb and forefinger reaching up to fiddle with the small gauge in one of his ears.

"Aw, thanks... It's always nice to hear that heh... You know I'm doing an episode in that Inn over there... I'm sure you know the rumours about it" He smiled that easy going expression the passion coming through his voice that he typically had on camera.

Jesse gawked for entirely too long before he managed to sputter out a very lame.

"uh y-yeah, the murders spread out over ... like 15 years?" Jesse tried scratching at his neck.

Cole looked clearly impressed and he smiled nodding his head so earnestly for an answer about a bunch of homicides in this nasty city.

"Yeah, Some say it was a curse laid here back when the Inn used to be really bustling from the gold mines" That was 100 some years ago if Jesse's 'town' history as right. He hated to admit how much he knew about town history, being dragged to his grandparent's senior community and spending boring days after school watching the news and listening to them re-tale the same boring stories every day while his parents worked.

"Yeah its really cool... I can't wait to see the episode on it since ... its part of like my history too" Jesse smiled even if he knew Cole couldn't see it through his helm.  
Cole's eyes crinkled upward with his grin and he nodded his head.

"Yeah I'm filming tonight actually ... if you uh wanna check out a sneak peek I'm starting around... 8:30"

Jesse's jaw visibly clenched, a gulp tearing its way down his throat. Cole eyed him and then flickered his eyes toward his motorcycle again and then _swear to god_ flickered down his ripped jeans and up to the thick tan leather he wore to protect him in case he bailed.

Jesse wasn't sure if it was his melted brain or that Cole was clearly sizing him up. His cheeks looked a little redder too before he bashfully shifted his weight.

"A-anyways I was just on my way to grab some drinks and lunch for Mr. Thomsom and me so... "

"U-Uh yeah of course It was ... nice to meet you, Cole." He turned his motorcycle on and caught Cole pulling his bottom lip into his mouth before shaking his dazed head looking like he was about to ask him how he knew his name before remembering what they were just talking about.

"Oh damn I'm the worst Haha, I never got your name..."

"Jesse."

"Right... nice to met you, Jesse, anyways...."

"See you around,"

Jesse watched as Cole nodded to himself before waving at Jesse with a smile.  
A strange sliver of confidence at seeing Cole (maybe?) react to the cool motorcycle dude persona he always wanted to be stirs inside him. He revs several show-offy times his ego totally spurred and sped out of there, glancing back one last time to see that Cole was watching him.

Holy shit.

By the time he was clearly away from the more famous man's sight, he had to pull over huffing in the anxiety attack of the century.  
Throwing his helmet off his head he quickly dropped to his knees dry heaving and eventually losing to the inner battle of not vomiting up all the liquid in his stomach.

What did he just do? Did he seriously somehow get another meeting with Cole? How did he manage that? Wiping his mouth on his rolled-up sleeve he wondered how Cole would think if he knew he just vomited from nerves just _talking to him!!_

From Coles perspective, he looked like some cool biker dude. God, he was way over his head here. Cole was totally out of his league and he knew it.

Sighing heavily he got up off his knees and hazily got back on his bike sitting on the running seat and just letting his breathing stabilize. His stomach stops churning and more importantly his heart from beating straight out of his ribs.

He considered the fact he should quit while he was ahead but he would also be kicking himself if he didn't at least try... Cole was a nice person he was sure the other boy wouldn't invite him without even seeing his face if he wasn't prepared for Jesse to be... well probably not what he was expecting.

Well, he had a couple hours to get ready and he might as well attempt to get something decent together before his nerves changed his mind.

Returning to his apartment all he could do is pace around the messy rooms and chew on his nails until he got past his nail bed and then _beating himself over the head even more than he did that._

Finally, he settled on painting them black to distract from the fact he bit them raw.  
His outfit for the night consisted of a warm red flannel since the September nights were starting to get very cold. It wouldn't be until mid-October before they were supposed to get the first frost overnight but this year was threatening to be early.

The cold didn't bother him that bad however for him to skip out on his black skinny jeans ripped in the knees not from buying them that way but back before he got his bike and used to skateboard everywhere.

Real wear and tear. It made him feel authentic to his style, and even if he found himself ugly in his own eyes he could at least pull off that grungy look enough that people could assume it was just his 'Style'.

Sighing he flopped onto the couch desperately wanting to calm his nerves with a hoot or two but he also wanted to be clear headed... he didn't want his first impression on Cole to be that he was a massive pot head... Even if this... friendship...? Ghost? Date??? Whatever. Went any further than this night he'd find out eventually.

Which he highly doubted it would happen again.

Dragging his phone into view he groaned realizing it was still only 5 or so. He was too nervous to stop fretting about tonight to calm his shit enough to relax and do something with himself.

He settled on watching tv knowing if he opened youtube he would freak himself out more by watching Cole's channel and that seemed... desperate and freaky.

Animal Planet filled his senses with kittens and even if he wasn't the 'fluffy and cute' kinda guy he could admit watching dumb baby cats scamper around distracted him just enough to chill the fuck out.

It wasn't too much longer after he turned his brain to mush watching animals that his timer remained him it was now 7:45 and he better head out.

He gave himself one last fluff over in the mirror staring at the dark green hazel eyes that looked back at him.

Well if nothing else at least he'll spend some actual time with Cole once. Maybe that was good enough to help him get over this dumb crush if Cole rejected him.

Jesse grabbed the helmet off its usual spot and made sure the door was locked before heading for his bike.

  
*

 

Jesse slowed his motorcycle to a crawl when the Inn came into view and he noticed very quickly a truck containing Cole in the parking lot.

The other also quickly spotted the bike being the thing was pretty noisy even when he was crawling toward the other vehicle.

Jesse killed the engine and kicked his bike stand out stepping off the clicking beast, the machines heated metal piping chilling quickly in the charged air. Angry clouds above threatened to pour their guts out and Jesse wondered briefly if he should pull the bike somewhere more covered. He was distracted however by Cole stepping out of his old ford and smiling at him. A camera propped in one hand and a thick well-worn backpack in the other.

"You came!" Cole called to him taking the last couple steps to look up at Jesse making the much taller boy to finally realize something. Cole was tiny compared to his 6'3 he couldn't be much taller than 5'6 maybe 5'7. Cute...

"Yeah, I couldn't miss out on something as... awesome as this." His voice sounded deeper than usual and he swallows thickly trying to not seem nervous as his hands came up to his chin strap.

He knew he couldn't keep the thing on forever least that be... incredibly rude. But he also knew it would be a huge turn off to have some bobble-headed knucklehead following him around.

The secure confidence of having his helmet on quickly whittled away and he placed it on the seat of his bike knowing at this time of night if someone really wanted to steal it they could but it wasn't like he cared, he had a spare back home.

Cole obviously took in Jesse again the gears turning for a moment and Jesse wondered if this is when he'd see the disappointment settle in on the man's face instead there was a curious interest that quickly turned more professional.

"Yeah definitely... so are you ready to get some first looks? I have full access to the whole place... basement included- apparently it used to be an old western jailhouse for a little bit and some of the cells are still intact" He smiled so brightly obviously thrilled to see for himself. Jesse blushed at his enthusiasm suddenly feeling like he was intruding on Coles private happiness but at the same time he couldn't help the swell of happiness in himself he was selfishly getting to see this side of the Youtuber to himself. Cole had just reached 500,000 subscribers and in the grand scheme of the world's population, it was a small number but... on the internet that was well on the way to success.

Jesse's suddenly realized how critically cool it was he was getting to experience this.

"Really? that's fucking sick I never knew that!" Jesse chimed fully interested in getting to hypothetically stand in an old jail cell.  
Cold pinkened and nodded a little holding his camera up.

"Yeah! it'll be a cool episode for sure... so uh usually I scout out the rooms and film my immediate reactions then after seeing the whole area go back to the interesting spots." Cole gestured for the door to the Inn and filmed himself pulling a key out of his Jeans and unlocking the door to the Inn. Camera capturing the rattle of the old wooden door frame creaking tightly as it swung open."Todays a little different though... I've been here so many times it isn't new but..."

Jesse himself had been in the Inn to eat at their restaurant a couple times with family but aside from that the rest of the place was a mystery.

Hearing the door creak open like that usually made him think nothing but out here in the darkness of the quiet road bathed in pale street lamps with nobody around for miles but them... well he felt a shiver crawl down his spine.

Cole peeked his head in the building filming the first little area of the lobby. The most modern looking of the building surely and the more mundane for establishing shots.

"You coming?" Cole called after Jesse stared ominously into the dark window panes of the far too quiet building.

"Yeah... I'm coming" He called bravery spurred on by the cute cheery look Cole flashed him, eyes clearly sparkling with excitement not an inch of fear in his body.


	3. Making History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a beast coming up around 7.5k 
> 
> It also contains some ghost stories based very vaguely on ones I heard growing up in my hometown haha

"So I have a quick question..." Jesse asked as they walked down the long dusty hallway leading to the first floors rooms, they actually housed customers in the winter season for the holidays when family members would come to visit. But they were currently all empty which Jesse learned was why Cole could even get the whole building to himself in the first place. The owner wanted free publicity and Coles channel seemed like a good enough place to start.

"Hit me up" Cole answered looking back just quick enough to give Jesse a soft look.  
Jesse stalled for a moment forgetting what his question was until he spotted the red light of the camcorder clearly still recording.

"So uh... Do I need to be quiet for you since your filming ... Also, not that I wouldn't be honoured but will I... be in the video?" Jesse asked tightening his jaw a little feeling nervous.

"Oh! not if you don't want to be... I usually edit the spanning shots with music so we can talk and its all okay... and honestly having an exploring buddy for somewhere so personal feels... nice" Cole admitted his cheeks clearly a deep red... or maybe that was just the reflecting light of the camera.

"Heh... as long as your fans don't attack me for appearing in the shots I'm okay with it... " Jesse knew his hands were jittery so he shoved them in the pockets of his jacket.

Cole laughed at that leaning over to crack open the first door to his left and sweeping his camcorder over the inns first rental room.

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it... I've been actually thinking my formula is getting pretty stale um... I've been wanting to get a cameraman so it flows a little better you know and I stop jostling the camera around so much." Cole shrugged nonchalantly at the idea, even if the suggestion of needing a cameraman sparked Jesse into action. 

"I-I go to college for filmology! I mean.. I used to but ... " He shrugged as well unsure if it was his place but... Cole tilted his head to the side humming to himself.

"Really...? What a coincidence... uh Well, wanna show me what you got? " Cole asked raising an eyebrow and passing the camera to Jesses shaken hands.

uh oh. The hole he was digging kept getting bigger and bigger... the universe was really pulling some moves for him right now and he wanted to drop to his knees and thank whoever decided he deserved this.

"Wow, the pressure is really mounting one me there Cole, can't believe you're trusting some dude off the street with your equipment" Jesse laughed to himself as he steadied the camcorder grinning as he captured Coles figure in the lens. Well if Cole was giving him an excuse to look at him he might as well take it.

Cole laughed brightly almost looking shy for a moment his face lit by Jesse's headlamp. Cole asked they put them on in the lobby.

"What can I say, my momma raised me to trust thy neighbour' " He teased amused and seeming to gain his charisma back. Jesse's heart thudded and he smiled softly as he started following after Jesse, filming anything of interest to himself or whatever Cole would point to and start talking about.

"Oh! Yeah coming up here is the portrait of _Madam Yevette s_ he was a bartender that worked here in the late _1800's"_ Cole explained mostly to the camera about the history of the place. Being in person and seeing the absolute enthusiasm in Cole's voice as he chattered happily about the history of this place was striking.

And honestly, it was incredibly compelling. He had been interested in the show on the internet but he often zoomed out around the history portions more interested in seeing the weird shit.

But a new found appreciation welled in his gut seeing in person all the minute details Cole clearly found so _fascinating._  He could clearly see the passion Cole had and he respected him so deeply at this moment.

"- The two men, the _sheriff_  of the small gold rush community and a man named _Joseph_  who was an immigrant brit, were both pining for her hand in marriage. They duelled and Joseph was hit in the shoulder. Having won the duel the sheriff won the madam's heart."

Cole looked longingly at the photo of Yevette his eyes growing incredibly tender. Jesse subconsciously zoomed the camera in on that face capturing perfectly the raw emotion as Cole finished the story.

"Joseph high on opium for the pain of his infected shoulder decided to murder Yevette, he was manic at the idea he may die and decided that if he killed her there may have been a chance that their souls would meet in the afterlife and Yevette would be his. He slit her throat in cold blood then hung himself right next to her."

Jesse shivered, the delivery was dark and suddenly he felt a lot more on edge in this inn.. his grandparents obviously gave him the child-friendly version of this story when he was younger. He had never known how gruesome some old town tale was in reality.  
It was extremely exciting as well and he has never been so thoroughly thrilled and scared at the same time.

He uttered a short "Holy shit" His voice was a blunt deepness to Coles soft storytelling voice and Cole smirked upward at the camera.

"Yeah, crazy huh... they have a museum piece upstairs showcasing the very room that it happened in. - but We'll get to that" Cole winked _straight_  at him and Jesse laughed deep and enthusiastic.

"I can't wait..." He rumbled forgetting the camera between them.

The excitement of exploring finally got to Jesse and he moved the camera around following Cole upwards toward the second floor, focusing on each of the photos that followed them up the stairs with each step. The faded, yellowing wallpaper started to bubble and peel once they reached the top and it was clear this area was mostly forgotten about and left as storage. The dust was thick up here and Jesse pressed his face into his flannel and coughed. Cole coughed a couple times as well pulling some strands of cobwebs away from his face.

"As you can see they don't come up here too often... The owner was saying a lot of his employees report hearing footsteps from up here but they know nobody's there" Cole rattled clearly chipper, as he quickly ran up to a room reading the number and humming to himself.

"The first murder happened in 206 but, 203 has its own story, and happened on the exact date 45 years ago from the first...And the incidence that sparked the '15' year phenomenon" Cole looked up at Jesse clearly excited as he opened the door slowly. The wooden frame creaking even worse than the main doors inside.

Jesse panned the camera after Cole as he entered the room. It looked like the typical rooms downstairs if not a little dated and dusty. Cole smiled as he planted himself right on the bed after dusting it off. He smirked over at Jesse and the camera, He flicked his head over to the bed.

"Come, join me- I have a story to tell and it's kinda winded."

Jesse swore this was maybe the worst place in the world right now to be getting even the tiny shiver of pleasure he felt hearing those words in person. His throat felt like it was dry.

And just last week he dreamed of this moment and here it was happening right in front of him.

However, the slimy guilt that climbed up his spine knowing how... this came to this point was because Jesse had set it up.

Well, to be honest, it escalated far further than he _ever_  expected too.

His stomach felt like a solid ball of steel lodged itself there as he took the careful steps toward the bed then sat slowly next to Cole. He forgot for a moment he was supposed to be a cameraman and Cole cleared his throat in a friendly manner shocking Jesse straight out of the intimacy of this moment, and back into wanting to get good shots to impress Cole.

"So you got me sitting down... I wanna hear this story" Jesse was numbly surprised to hear how much calmer his voice was compared to his scattered own inner thoughts.

Cole laughed dizzying bright and Jesse felt a jolt of joy pierce into his black heart.  
It was a wonderfully striking contrast to the next words out of his mouth.

"Well, this is a story about a man named Thomas Swanson, see the end of the gold rush is fast approaching at this point and the industry was shifting to coal... and more importantly and eventually _oil_. -"

The oil industry's rise in Canada wasn't the most exciting thing in the world but Jesse was still captivated. Thinking to himself Cole could tell him anything and he would be happy to learn about it.

"-Mr. Swanson acquired a _lot_ of wealth very quickly you see and he bought his old favourite Inn and bar... After the first grisly murder, the Inn became, deceptive. He fixed it up to what you see now... and not much as changed since then as you can tell!" Cole chuckled clearly light-hearted and respecting the history of the place. Cole finished up the history portion by talking about over the years Mr.Swanson married a beautiful woman and they started their family here.

"Unfortunately in the first incident of the Rose Water curse, Thomas came back home with his son to find his wife and his newborn daughter murdered. There was no evidence... a suspect was never found. - In fact..." His eyes lowered as well as his voice and he leaned in that last part whispering closer to Jesse and the camera.

" -it was this very bed they found her body stuffed under the mattress-"

Jesse jumped to his feet immediately freaked out about the thought of sitting on a bed from a _murder_.

Cole just laughed at him over the reaction. Bending over with his loud gawfs.  
Jesse shot the other man a wide-eyed betrayed look realizing he was being fucked with right now.

  
Cole must have noticed the dark flash over his face and he snorted shaking his head.

"Snk- Sorry I always wanted to do that... And I never had the chance till now!" Cole defended himself a huge smile betraying his apology.

Jesse couldn't stay mad for long however and he found himself laughing. The scare seemed to jostle something free from him and he was finally... comfortable. He didn't think about his endless crush on the other boy he just enjoyed the moment for what it was... and it was a nice one.

"But truly and I'm not lying here that story _is_ true... it's not the _same_  furniture but its arranged to be as accurate as possible out of respect... " It was then as Jesse noticed the cradle in the corner by a window and he swung the camera slowly as well and muttered a soft.

  
"Jesus"

"Yeah... from there every 15 years the woman married into the family would either mysteriously die... be murdered or simply go missing..." Cole explained standing from the bed. Just as he did, however, there was a loud noise from a room over. Almost like a chair toppling over.

Both boys froze straight in the spot and looked at each other with wide eyes.  
Cole darted his eyes to the door and then back at Jesse pushing his finger to his lips in a clear hush noise. Jesse held his breath.  
Faintly ... at first there was the sound of very soft thumping that turned into the scarily familiar creak of one of the old doors opening.

Jesse felt light headed with the eerie tension soaking every particle of dust in the air. He had to breathe after there were no more noises for a long while and it seemed to be the breaking point in the frozen air.

  
Cole turned to him with one of the craziest big smiles like that wasn't _fucking, the most pant-shitting scary things in Jesses whole life._

"What the actual fuck-"

"Well of all the places in town this is the _most haunted_ "

  
"Yeah but like... that _actually just happened_  " Jesse stressed pointing at the door leading to the hallway.

Cole gave Jesse an obviously amused look and like it was nothing in the world as he opened the door to the hallway and started heading toward the source of the noise.

"Cole! Jesus- _wait--_ " Jesse was heading after him when he had to take pause hearing Coles voice carrying down the hall.

"Jesse Quick! this door is open!" Cole called and sure enough, as Jesse approached with the camera he saw it. The door he was pretty sure was closed when they came upstairs was now halfway swung open. He panned slowly up to the doors number and froze when he spotted the number.

206.

Cole gave him the brilliantly brave charismatic face Jesse first became attracted too and pushed the door the rest of the way open.

"Welcome to the famous room where it all started." Cole started off still professional even in the haunting situation all around him.  
The room looked to be set up to look like it had before, very old fashion and actually less dusty than the rest of them. Jesse wondered how many ghost stories got told on Halloween here. He knew the bar had a special Halloween night but it never interested him. Well... until he got Cole to tell it to him proper.

He paused the camera on a chair in the middle of the room toppled over. His blood ran cold wondering if that was the noise they heard earlier.

"-This is actually really crazy see the current owner told me they hear the chair up here being dragged or pushed over so we set it up in the middle of the room earlier-" That pulled Jesse from his thoughts and he shot the man a surprised look.

"Wait really?!"

"Yeah, I was actually wanting to set up my second camera up here to see if I could catch it on film..." Cole pulled the second camcorder out of his backpack and moved it to the table so that it had a view of the chair in perfect focus ... well as perfect as you could get in night vision.

Cole bent to pull the chair back into an upward position. Placing his hands on his hips in thought.

" Well, hopefully, he can do it again for us, "

"H-He?"

Cole looked over with a mischievous look toward Jesse.

"Those who believe in the curse think its Josephs restless spirit that haunt these halls... he targets the woman who lived and worked here... It's mostly the female employees who hear and experience the most hauntings."

"This ghost sounds like a douche" Jesse snorted filming Cole who snorted back despite himself even if he shook his head.  
"He's probably just confused... the modern era must be highly distressing to his mindset..." Cole smiles before walking up to Jesse.

"Well... I was actually thinking of taking a quick break and let the camera film up here...did you... wanna grab a coffee?" The question sounded strongly like Cole was asking him on a date and Jesse's heart puttered back into remembering how he was spending the night with his youtube crush...

"T-That sounds great... actually "

"You don't have too if you don't want too I'm probably going to be here until 3 in the morning so... if you have something better to do-" Cole started suddenly nervous for the first time that night despite the circumstances. Jesse flushes hard and swallowed back the excitement threatening to spill out of him.

"Naw dude... it's chill I don't work tomorrow and this has been really fun and cool I hope you know how like... Much I appreciate this?" Jesse rubbed the back of his neck his brain realizing this awkward flirting was _really happening in a murder inn._

  
Cole just smiled and bit his lip.  
"Cool...." He looked at his phone for the first time that night and noticed that the time was now 11 pm Wow time really did fly.

"We can just go to the McDonalds across the street" Cole stated as he started heading for the door and down the hall until they were back in the lobby.

Cole checked the camera Jesse was holding and then switched out the batteries and SD card before setting it up to stare at the dark maw that was the bar in the back.

"Alright let's kill some time then," Cole chirped opening the door back outside and the coolness of the fresh air shocked Jesse back awake almost immediately. He felt like it was a perfect night to spend on his baloney with a smoke. But it may have been even better spent just standing next to Cole for the couple chilly moments while Cole locked the Inn's doors once more.

"So...I have a question for you..." Cole asked slyly walking a couple of steps toward Jesse's bike.

  
"Yeah?" Jesse hummed curiously finding himself falling in beat next to Cole joining him in front of his bike.

"Well... I let you have a sneak peek of the show and all... and I was wondering..." Jesse felt himself looking over at Cole in slow motion, the blond man's perfect rosy cheeks bright in the street lamps lighting the parking lot.

"If you could take me a ride on this bad boy." Cole finally got to the point hesitantly reaching out to gently tap the handlebars as if it was fine china.

Okay, this must be a dream, silently the taller snuck his one hand over to the other and he pitched at the sensitive skin on his wrist.  
It stung, a flare of pain travelling up his whole arm. He stood where he was looking at Coles expectant eyes.

"S-sure" Jesse heard himself say distantly and the look that brightens on Coles' face was almost too much for his poor heart to handle.

"We can do that maybe...later if I don't have caffeine right now I'm going to crash. " Cole admitted a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips as he started heading toward the McDonalds. Jesse quickly jogged to catch up managing to get there before Cole and pulling the door open for him which rewarded him in a cute almost sleepy smile.

With the fluorescent lighting, he noticed that Coles' face had a soft sleepiness that cemented that the other man put a lot of effort and work into his videos spending late nights out often. Jesse knew how he felt although... he wasn't doing anything important with that time really.

Nothing to the scale of Cole.

Cole stepped up to an equally sleep-deprived worker and ordered himself a triple-triple.  
Cole liked his coffee sweet he discovered after hearing it and ordering himself a cup with just a single cream and sugar. They found themselves sitting next to the window that best kept the Inn in sight.

Cole comfortably settled in the booth sideways, his back to the window while he nursed the first couple sips of his drink.  
Jesse stared at out the window feeling awkward and having nothing to really say as much as he dreamed of this moment.  
Cole didn't seem bothered by his shy awkwardness in the least however and as soon as he had some caffeine in his system he perked right up again.

"So you've lived here your whole life?" Cole asked casually enough, shifting his posture into one sitting straight across from Jesse looking at him with a smile.

"Yeah pretty much... we moved out to some country community for a couple years when I was really young...My parents decided they really hated the country though and we moved back to the city." Jesse explained feeling a small shiver at how intensely Cole looked at him like he was interested in hearing more.

"Wow! My story is kind of the opposite. I grew up on my family's farm until I entered high school... then my parents wanted me to have a 'urbaner social life'." Cole laughed earnestly' picking at the rim of his cup.

"What high school did you go too?" Jesse asked curiously he knew they were around the same age already, based on a post on Coles twitter once. There were only two high schools in the city and if Jesse never saw Cole during his years in the downtown site then Cole must have gone to Uplands.

"Uplands Secondary" Cole smiled and Jesse felt himself smirk. Of course.

"I went to Willows Peak, " Not something to be honestly proud of, the school had a reputation for the more ... dramatic stories of student life. Drug problems, teen pregnancy the whole 9 yards.

Cole seemed to give him a little look and laugh before he was shaking his head.  
"We used to call it _widow's peak_  at my school" Cole snickered leaning on his forearms giving Jesse an amused look as the taller boy just snorted rolling his eyes. Like he hadn't heard that one his entire life.

  
"Yeah, we used to call ourself that all the time too- it's still funny how much if a small world it is... I always assumed you lived I don't know... somewhere more exciting. " Jesse confessed before laughing softly.  
"To think there might have been a chance in hell we could have gone to high school together..." Jesse continuted almost wistful. How much easier and smooth would that have been?

Cole's eyes seemed to glimmer a little bit with mirth before he shrugged his shoulders.

  
"I happen to travel a lot for the show... The Rose Water is pretty important to me so I was saving it for a special occasion.. 500,000 seemed like a special enough event... And honestly, I'm glad I never met you in high school.." Jesse's heart sank for a pure second but Cole didn't notice still talking.

"High school is full of kids faking themselves ... at least I know I was! I was kinda a snob back then trying to fit in with my peers... You probably wouldn't have liked me" Cole seemed a little regretful and Jesse knew that Cole wouldn't have meant no harm even if he was different in high school... He was just too pure.

"I think I would have I mean you are... quite -" Jesse froze realizing he was about to tell Cole he was handsome straight to his face. He swallowed as he trailed off noticing Cole giving him a curious look but not pushing anything further.

"Yeah well... still It's nice to relax a little around someone usually when I met fans I always feel so... on edge but you've been genuinely cool... You know at first I was kinda nervous you were a crazy stalker! I couldn't see your face you know"

  
Jesse knew Cole was teasing but he couldn't help his cheeks from paling just slightly.

  
"Heh... ahh... well I enjoy your videos and its been a super big honour tonight really... I'm glad you trusted that I'm not some crazy psychopath" Jesse teased back gently not wanting to actually push the subject too far least he make Cole change his mind on him.  
Cole gave him that bright smile and ran his hand idly through his short coppery locks.

"Well I don't know for certain yet but ... If you are-- you had me alone for quite a while.. to make a move"

Why did Jesse feel that came off incredibly suggestive..? he attempted to ignore his nasty deceptive dick for once, even if his cheeks returned in that classic embarrassed flush.

Cole didn't keep the subject on that for long however as he quickly started talking about something else related to the grungy boy in front of him.

"So is the filmology thing true? If so, that's really cool you know... I didn't know the college offered that kind of courses."

Jesse shrugged non-chalontely, strands of black hair slipping over his shoulder and resting on his chest as he took a moment to swig at his drink.

"Well, they don't _really_  offer the type of stuff I was after. I would have needed to transfer schools to continue down that path and ... Let's face it is crazy expensive... I started working and kinda fell into the trap of being too busy to go back to school"

Cole seemed to understand where he was coming from and he nodded slowly.

  
"Well if it's really your dream I think you should pursue it... I was watching you filming... you know your way around the camera so naturally, I'm actually very excited to see what we got... and well ---You know how I was saying I was looking for a cameraman...?" Cole straightened and suddenly looked rather serious, his fingertips pressing his now empty coffee cup until it teetered threateningly in his grasp.

"...are you suggesting you want m-me to do that still?"

"If you want! I... I know this is probably mighty weird and we just met but... my gut feeling has never lead me astray before. I can pay you too!"

"You... don't even know if my footage is usable what if... its shit " Jesse argued his self-doubt eating away at him already. Sure he put his all into it but he was certain Cole would watch it back and realize how bad of an idea this whole thing was. Jesse didn't deserve all this... this really must be a super realistic dream.

"Now here's a little advice for your new film career don't sell yourself short, man... But if you're that worried about it we can always talk about a contract _after_ I review and edit the footage... obviously I'll send the final video to you before I upload it.. because I think there is a couple moment I wanna include with you in them... like when I scared you Hah.. sorry man it's was just priceless." Cole giggled a little as he remembered earlier in the night giving Jesse that sly look once again making Jesse shiver in delight. Seeing different sides of Cole was so exciting.

"So mean... But that's fair... I guess I need to give you my contact information?" Jesse suggested trying to slide his way into maybe getting Coles number out of this night.

"Oh yeah of course!" Cole was already digging through his bag to find his notebook and a pen, scrawling down his information... and the personal stuff too not just his public social media.

Damn score...

Cole handed him a scrap of paper after he was finished writing his own information down and passed him the pen afterwards.  
Jesse looked at Coles number and email for a little too long still wondering what kind of karma he did to deserve all of this. But he also decided at the same time he was going to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. He scribbled down his own number and email, watching with intense eyes as Coles slim fingers folded the paper several times and placed it securely in his breast pocket of the grey button up he was wearing.

After the exchange, they both made due with some more casual small talk... Jesse talks about the games he had been enjoying lately and came to realize Cole also had the same interests in genres as him.

Cole got up at some point to grab another coffee for both of them, having remembered Jesse's preferences as he passed the perfect cup back to him.

"Thanks" Jesse needed the caffeine too and he quickly knocked back half of the hot drink exhaling deeply afterwards, thumping at his chest with a shake of his head.

"Phew, so do you think we have any more ghost footage on those cameras by now?" Jesse asked as he noticed Coles attention drifted to staring at the Inn longer and longer.  
Cole seemed to jolt out of his thoughts and he chuckled softly giving Jesse a warm look.

"Itching to get back in huh?" The blond man glanced at his phone and found that it was almost 1 in the morning now. "Yeah that's probably enough time we still have to check out the jail cells" Cole yawned as he stood to copy Jesses previous move and chugging back most of his coffee as well, wiping his lips harshly once he finished.

"Let's get back before the storm starts pouring" Cole quickly stated glancing outside and Jesse realized it was starting to rain rather hard already.

The two men ran outside with a couple dollops of laughter to the mix, both shielding their heads and trying to get back before the rumbling storm clouds up ahead spilled out the worst of it. The prairies were known for hailing the size of golf balls and the mixed temperature tonight was optimal for getting caught up in one hell of a storm.

They quickly made it back however and they both made a small detour to park their vehicles closer to one another and a little closer to the back, providing Jesse's bike protection from most of the nasty weather.  
By the time they got back inside the Inn, they were both soaked, and Jesse peeled his heavy flannel off to rest over a chair hoping it would be drier by the time they were going to leave.

The thunder outside ominously rattled the old building, wind starting to pick up and beat against the roof distantly and shaking the shutters violently. Jesse shivered a little remembering their close experience with the paranormal earlier and wondered if he was going to be okay to keep doing this.  
Seeing Coles happy face changed his tune quickly, His button-up clung wetly to his frame and Jesse wondered if he we going to have a stroke over how hot he looked with his hair matted wetly to his forehead and skull. Cole unaware of Jesses hard stare ran his fingers through the locks shaking them wildly around his crown.

Lord.

Jesse stiffened as Cole pushed past him gently to grab the camera he left pointing at the bar. He stopped the recording and peered back at the footage sped up. He frowned a little and sighed.

"Nothing on this one, there might be stuff I catch when I'm editing it later." He repeats the process of replacing the camera with a new SD keeping the filled ones in an empty crown royale velvet bag.

Jesse could only dumbly think he was going insane over how much he was analyzing the aesthic of that. Swallowing thickly he croaked out a strangely deep sounding. "So... wanna check out that Jail cell?"

Coles' eyes flicked up from the camera and he smiled lopsidedly. "Didn't take you for a jail boy" He teased teeth flashing in the dim lighting as he passed the camera back over to Jesses more than willing hands. Cole was already off by another door when Jesse finally looked up out of his daze. The other absently clicking his headlamp on while he disappeared down into the darkness of the basement his steps creaking something awful.

"Hey! wait!" Jesse called not wanting to be left alone in at any point in this Inn. He turned his own light on and took a couple cautious steps downward, He was scared but that thrilling feeling was in control now. He pointed the camera downward, Showing off   _just_ how old and shitty these stairs were.  
The camera eventually spanned over the whole basement once Jesse reached the bottom. His own head the only source of light. Huh? Where did Cole get too?

His headlamp finally settled on a figure that quickly turned out to be Cole standing in the corner like he was doing his best Blair Witch impression.

"Har Har" Jesse deadpanned already expecting this from Cole. He never thought the man could have a prank streak but honestly, it was cute.

Cole laughed breaking character and twisting to give Jesse a cheeky pout. "Aw, no fun not even a little scream?"

Jesse rolled his eyes and watched as Cole flicked his light back on and directing Jesse over to the far side of the basement. Next to, Frankly, the most terrifyingly old water heater Jesse had ever seen was an old-timey Jail cell that... honestly compared to that boiler looked like a quaint time.

"Did you know old water heaters like that can blow up for absolutely no reason and release enough energy equivalent to _100_  sticks of dynamite?"

"Huh?"

"The water heater, Natures silent killer Cole. Jesus, look how old that thing is."

Cole stared at him for a long time scrunching his brow in confusion before the look was hastily replaced by the crinkle his eyes got when he laughed heartily.

_"What?"_

"The water heater Cole!" Jesse said with a certain hysterics unable to stop the massive grin on his lips at getting Cole to laugh like that. It boosted his shattered ego upward for a euphoric moment. He wanted to do it again.

"Geez someone needs to get some sleep. " Cole jests sticking a forefinger into Jesse's chest and was vastly unaware how much that affected the black haired boy. "I take you to a spooky jail cell and you get more scared by a tank of water?" He tsks light-heartedly as he walks into the cell closing the heavy iron door behind him. There were no locks on the door anymore and it still swung partially open even after Cole tried to close it fully.

"Anyways... I think this would be a fun shot for the next story." Cole smiled through the bars in a manner that reminded Jesse of a corgi in a crate unaware it was trapped.

"Yeah maybe I'm getting a little loopy" Understatement of the year from Jesse here folks, Jesse thinks dryly to himself holding the camcorder up and taking a moment to find a good shot before he decides the best looking one would be with Cole slightly angled, the bars blurry with Cole in the focus. "Okay I'm ready" He stated when he was finished.

"Artsy" Cole said with his eyebrows raised a little but he fits neatly into character smiling at the camera. This man was a dream to film. Jesse keeps thinking.

"The province of wild roses is known for having its own spice of _western_. Cowboys have always been a big side of the past here and persist today. This area had a lot of buffalo back in the day- Well that also meant bandits and no good cattle thieves. John Wade, a local rancher, reported to the Mounties stationed here at the time about how every couple of weeks or so one of his cows or buffalo would end up dead on his ranch."

Cole pulls a thoughtful face and he continues.

"See the weirded part about it is he would always find them dead, with only a couple of pounds of the meat gone... a side of ribs or a leg.- It was all very perplexing because when the Mounties first heard these stories they assumed it was wild coyotes or maybe a brave bear, But when John insisted they come and see for themselves the next time it happened they realized no feral creature could do this... The marks were perfect man-made knife marks."

Jesse watched as Cole drew a line across his rips and over his legs a couple times. Mimicking perfect straight gashes.

"They realized the attacks were pretty consistent timeline wise... so they laid a trap for the felon every night for the next two weeks and sure enough- This vagrant of a man lumbers out of the bushes. His beard all wire and squirrelly-

-The Mounties jumped him before he could kill the cow he was staking out and he confessed to it all... The man, Charles Brighton, was a homeless _butcher_  from America. He would kill the cow from Johns farm and only take back the best cuts for himself and what he could carry... he had this really nasty shack out in the woods he lived in all alone.

They arrested the man and jailed him in this cell for only a couple months as punishment, but when his time was due... he didn't want to leave. It turns out this cell was a lot more comfortable than his drafty shack back in the woods... and he got fed twice a day and could chat freely with anyone who passed him by. "

Jesse shivered a little bit as he saw the way, Cole's face tensed. He could tell the ending was coming. He waited with baited breath for the perfect moment.

"Taking pity on the homeless man The Royal Canadian Mounties let Charles live in a cell for the rest of his natural life. Served him food and water twice a day, I heard on every Christmas before they left to see family they made sure he had a nice glass of whisky." A soft chuckle. Then-

"Charles died in a jail cell he refused to leave at the age of 63, surrounded by his friends who originally jailed him."

Jesse started zooming the camera out just enough that the bars in the prison snapped back into focus and Cole was left blurry.  
Jesse held his breath as Cole smiled at him completely sincere and bittersweet.

"You know this one always makes me the saddest, it's not as gruesome as the rest of them, But I don't know it makes me happy and sad? At the same time?" Cole gushed standing up gently and running his fingers over the bars with a touch as light as a feather.

"He was just some lonely cooky, old man... But I hope he's in a better place now... " Cole smiled before he opened the cell door and gestured for Jesse to take a look around with the camera.

Jesse was a little distracted by Coles sentimental muses and on autopilot let the camera do most of the work spanning across the wooden bench that would have served as his bed. There was a chest in the corner containing a thin old mattress roll as well as scratchy fibrous blankets. Eventually, he sat done where Cole just was and tried to imagine spending the rest of his life down here. It was dank smelling and he was sure he would be bored out of his mind... but maybe that suited Charles.

He realized he never said anything for a while and he coughed awkwardly. "Uh... I think its a wonderful story actually... A little sad but... I think it's nice your telling his story... it's kinda like remembering him."

Cole gave him a surprised look turning back from the small basement window he was attempting to peer out of. He quirked a curious little smile and laughed softly, almost sounding a little fragile.

"I mean.. that's the whole reason I started my channel... Um, there's so much _history_  in these places and stories of people before us... So many people live in their own heads and lives they never stop to think about this kind of stuff... It's the whole reason we're here today! I think that's wonderful and we should celebrate it!" Despite the soft beginning Cole's passion clearly shines when he talks about this stuff.

Jesse visibly swallowed. Cole was so much more in touch than him, he was very much one of those people who live day by day never thinking about any of the hardships and triumphs in the world that got him to where he was now. All the seemingly insignificant puzzle pieces that lead to this day as we see it.

"That's a really cool philosophy Cole... I never thought of it that way... I..." He respected Cole- Thought he was brilliantly important -Was incredibly deeply inspired at this moment-

With a sickening thought, he knew he was helplessly in love with him.

They barely knew each other but he knew.

"---I'm glad you let someone as uncool as me in on it" Jesse finished weakly his heart going a mile a minute.

"You're cool Jesse! _geez_ , you're making me blush... " Cole laughed heart light and free from the obvious burden that was weighing in on Jesse right now.

Their eyes locked and Jesse smiled back sure in that very moment he could deal with all of those unpleasant -not totally _unpleasent_ more uncomfortable like he was keeping a deeply hidden truth from Cole that was threatening to split him open at any moment- feelings at bay as long as he could bask in the tender sunlight of Cole's enthusiasm and zest for life.

Thunder bellowed suddenly enough to make both men jump, they shared a look and Cole was the first to make a move.

"We should finish up upstairs and head out... I can give you a ride back to your place if you need it... I'm not sure how nice being on a motorcycle in this storm will be " Cole shrugged awkwardly running those perfect fingers through his slow air-drying locks.

"Yeah... I'd appreciate that actually, don't need me becoming another one of your ghost stories huh?" Jesse croaked, sleep deprivation affecting his voice. He sounded odd and raw in his own ears.

Cole chuckled at that already heading for the stairs but spareing Jesse an over the shoulder look that got Jesse off his ass and moving.

"We wouldn't want that would we?"

*

They wrapped up quite quickly after that, the chair upstairs seemed to scoot to the side a little but was otherwise undisturbed. Cole decided, however, he would review the footage back home... after a long nap.  
They gathered the rest of the things around the Inn and sacrificed themselves to the weather once more to get Jesse's bike safely strapped into the back of Coles pick up.  
Shivering by the time he hops up into the passenger side of Coles ford he finds himself feeling a little star struck and dizzy once more.

Cole takes his place beside him turning the truck on, the rattley vibrations already churning Jesses stomach. The cab is too cramped and as much as he likes Cole, being this close next to him in an enclosed space, he also feels like he's suffocating. Gripping tightly at his soaked jeans he barely hears Cole the first time he asks.

"Whats your address?"

"Huh?"

"Where do you live?" Cole asks again politely as if he wasn't talking to a brain-dead fish in his passenger seat.

"O-Oh yeah I live in the Everpine apartment complex," Jesse said slowly side glancing at Cole who quickly typed the location into google maps. The man had a little phone holder that he clipped it into and a pleasant British woman directed him to make a U-turn at the next legal point.

Completely ignoring the 'legal' part Cole turned harshly as soon as he possibly had enough room making Jesse quickly grip for the overhead handle to save himself from being thrown into the passenger door.

"Sorry! I'm used to gravel!"Cole hollered a laugh as he started down the road, he was driving pretty fast but Jesse was used to much much faster.

It wasn't long until they reached Jesse's apartment complex and Jesse directed him where to park before hopping out to grab his bike. Cole popped the tailgate open and helped Jesse get the red, wet beauty back in her rightful place for the night.  
They both awkwardly stood looking at it before Cole yawned and gave Jesse a sleepy look.

"Well, I'm going to header'... I'll send you a text when I get home so you know I got back safe..." Cole waved at him before entering his truck and starting to pull away. He stopped however after pulling away a couple feet. The window was rolled down manually and Cole's head popped out after.

"Hey, Jesse? Thanks for being a chill dude... I had a lot of fun"

Jesse had been watching him leave in a stupor but that broke him out of his trance and he smiled back, bashfully rubbing at his neck.

"That's my line! Lemme know if you spot Joseph on the videos"

Cole just laughed and left Jesse by himself in the parking garage.

As Jesse was settling in for the night still vaguely wondering if it was all an overindulgent weed-induced hallucination when his phone pinged with a message from an unknown number.

'Made it home with most of my pieces haha :) we should do that again! Ttyl. Goodnight!"

Jesses heart fluttered. It was real alright.  
Another ping.

"You still owe me a ride on your bike ;)"


End file.
